An inmate at the Carbon County prison in Nesquehoning has been charged with assaulting a fellow inmate.

Nesquehoning police said Zakary Michael Hunsinger, 22, of 75 Main St., Junedale, Banks Township, has been charged with aggravated and simple assault, assault by a prisoner, institutional vandalism, and harassment.According to police on March 11 officer Richard Neikam was called to the prison by corrections officers concerning an assault.On scene Neikam was told that Hunsinger had assaulted his cellmate, Jeffrey Hosier.Hosier sustained a large laceration to the back of the head when Hunsinger smashed it against a toilet located inside the cell. The incident caused the toilet to break off the wall.Hosier was taken to the Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, where he received 12 staples to his head.Prison officials told Neikam, who was assisted by Chief Sean Smith, that they had pictures of the incident. Neikam also took photographs of the cell.Neikam then interviewed Hunsinger, who admitted he had assaulted Hosier and during the scuffle he fell on top of Hosier, causing him to strike his head on the toilet.In a written statement, Hunsinger took full responsibility for the incident, police said.Carbon County Warden Timothy Fritz explained that there are safeguards in place at the prison to stop assaults from happening when inmates are locked in their cells."The officers patrol the cell blocks at least every half-hour to make sure everyone is OK," he said, noting that patrols happen at varied times in that half-hour time period.When fighting does occur, not every incident has to be turned over to police."When inmates fight, they are both separated and locked down," Fritz said."Both then receive in-house charges and go before a hearing board. If they are found guilty then they end up spending time in the restricted housing unit."But in fights like the one with Hunsinger, where it was done only by one inmate, the severity of the injuries sustained by the victim and the damage to county property, Fritz said that the incidents are turned over to police.Hunsinger is facing trial on charges of burglary, aggravated assault, terroristic threats and harassment. Hosier is facing trial for felony retail theft and DUI charges.